Trump fires defense chief by tweet: ‘Esper has been terminated’
President Donald Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper in a tweet on Monday, making him the first Cabinet member to be let go after the president’s election loss over the weekend.
“I am pleased to announce that Christopher C. Miller, the highly respected Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (unanimously confirmed by the Senate), will be Acting Secretary of Defense, effective immediately..” Trump tweeted at 12:54 p.m. “...Chris will do a GREAT job! Mark Esper has been terminated. I would like to thank him for his service.”
Esper’s dismissal marks the end of a rocky two years at the Pentagon following the resignation of Defense Secretary James Mattis.
The spot was temporarily filled by former Boeing executive Patrick Shanahan, who similarly fell out of favor with Trump and only held an acting secretary role.
The position was also held for just a few days by former Navy Secretary Richard Spencer before Esper was confirmed as defense secretary last year. Esper later asked for Spencer’s resignation due to Spencer’s disagreement with the White House over the handling of the case of Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash.., called Trump’s action “childish.”
“It’s also reckless,” Smith said in a statement. “It has long been clear that President Trump cares about loyalty above all else, often at the expense of competence, and during a period of presidential transition competence in government is of the utmost importance.”
Mattis outlined his disagreements with the administration in his resignation letter in December 2018, which was made public.
Late Monday, Esper provided his own final message to the Pentagon, praising troops for their service amid the COVID-19 pandemic and heightened domestic unrest. He also provided a final reminder to the military’s oath to serve the country and Constitution, and not one particular party.
“I am particularly proud of these accomplishments in light of the challenges we faced along the way: a global pandemic; confrontations with Iran and its proxies throughout the Middle East; continued deployment of troops into conflict zones; domestic civil unrest; malign behavior globally by Russia and China; and a charged political atmosphere here at home. Through thick and thin, however, we have always put People and Country first,” Esper wrote.
In a similarly themed note to Trump, that was obtained by Fox News, Esper said “I serve the country in deference to the Constitution, so I accept your decision to replace me.”
Miller, his replacement, was swiftly and without ceremony escorted into the Pentagon just two hours after Trump’s tweet.
His arrival was so quick that even the Pentagon’s own official photographer did not have time to get out to the entrance of the Pentagon to capture the arrival, a defense official told McClatchy.
Esper’s attempts to temper a military response to the June 1 protests following the death of George Floyd was seen as one of the main reasons he fell out of favor with Trump.
“The option to use active duty forces in a law enforcement role should only be used as a matter of last resort, and only in the most urgent and dire of situations. We are not in one of those situations now. I do not support invoking the Insurrection Act,” Esper told reporters at the Pentagon a few days later.
The Pentagon referred all questions to the White House.
This story was originally published November 9, 2020 at 10:40 AM with the headline "Trump fires defense chief by tweet: ‘Esper has been terminated’."
